Mechanical Engineering Department Welcomes Dr. Calvin Li

Dr. Calvin Li, Assistant Professor, has joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering as its newest full-time faculty member. Dr. Li brings expertise in nanoengineering, two phase heat transfer, and renewable energy to the College of Engineering, where he is currently teaching Thermodynamics. He is also working to establish a Nanoengineered Multiphase Flow and Heat Transfer Laboratory within the Center for Engineering Education and Research.

“Villanova is a classical high caliber education institute. The students are excellent, and the faculty members are dedicated not only to research but also to educating the next generation of engineers. There is the perfect balance of teaching and research here,” says Dr. Li.

Prior to joining the College of Engineering, Dr. Li spent nearly four years as an assistant professor of engineering at the University of Toledo, where he led the Nanoscale Thermal and Fluidics Engineering Laboratory. His research interests include thermo-fluidics (boiling), renewable energy (fuel cell and concentrating solar power), nanotechnology (nanofluids and nanoscale thermal transport), and biofuel combustion (nanoengineered energy additives).

Dr. Li enjoys involving undergraduate students in his research, a tradition he plans to continue as a member of the College’s Thermal and Fluid Sciences Research Group. In his time at the University of Toledo, he worked with 14 undergraduate students on a variety of research initiatives. Four were awarded undergraduate research fellowships at the university; two were selected by the Department of Energy for summer research fellowships, and seven have since gone on to graduate school. Several were also involved in publishing two journal papers. While at the University of Toledo, Dr. Li received the deArce Memorial Endorsement Award, the Strategic Enhancement Award (for research excellence), and was nominated for the College of Engineering’s Excellent Undergraduate Researcher Mentor designation.

Outside his university research, Dr. Li also has served as a visiting scientist to the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Col., and the U.S. Air Force’s Wright Patterson Research Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio. He was also invited to the Department of Energy’s 2010 Science and Energy Research Challenge at Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Ill.

Dr. Li has two pending patents and has published 35 book chapters, journal, and conference proceeding papers.

About College of Engineering

Villanova University College of Engineering is committed to an educational program that emphasizes technical excellence and a liberal arts education within the framework of the University's Augustinian and Catholic traditions. As a community of scholars, we seek to educate students to pursue both knowledge and wisdom, and to aspire to ethical and moral leadership within their chosen careers, their community, and the world.